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Nursery News 1st July 2024

Monday, July 1, 2024

NURSERY NEWS

1st July 2024 – Edition 340

Find out About:

A. School Closed Monday 8th July, Training Day

B. The Importance of Arriving on Time

C. Admissions -Adding children’s names to our contact list

D. Arrangements for September 2024.

E. Reminder: parent consultations this week.

F. What are the children learning about next week?

 

A. School Closed Monday 8th July, Training Day

Willow Nursery School will be closed to all children on Monday 8th July. All staff will be receiving training. School will be open as usual on Tuesday 9th July. Next week’s newsletter will be emailed to parents on Tuesday 9th July.

 

B. The Importance of Arriving on Time

We have very well organised arrangements for arrival and departure times. Our aim is to take children in to school swiftly, so that they can get on with their learning.

We are finding a considerable number of families are arriving late. Once Keyworkers go inside with their children, they assist their children to settle, take registers and begin the day with ‘drips’. Each week the staff teach a particular focus in the first few minutes of the day. For example ‘Big Nursery’ have been working on the names of 3D shapes and describing how many edges, corners and faces these shapes have. We ‘drip’ feed this knowledge to the children over one week with the hope the children will learn it. Children arriving late miss this learning opportunity. Late children are disrupting settled groups.

By 9:00am the office staff should be getting on with their work. Each time a child arrives late, they must be escorted individually to their Keyworker group, and a mark be added to the already completed and totalled registers.

We are losing too much work time due to late children.

We are looking to tighten up our families punctuality. Procedures are clear. Please help by complying with the following requests:

  • If you know in advance that your child will absent, we ask that you inform us by completing an absence form (available from office staff) and handing this to the office staff so that the correct absence codes can be added to the registers.
  • If your child is to be absent on a particular day we ask that you call the school office before 9:00am, so that the correct absence codes can be added to registers and keyworkers can be informed.
  • Arrive on time. Some families are arriving up to 20 minutes late. Children are missing learning.
  • Arrive a little early to be able to speak to keyworkers before school begins. Keyworkers are available before school as parents begin to gather outside. Parents who arrive late will be unable to talk with their child’s keyworker, as they will be busy teaching.

Be aware that the office staff will telephone and/or email families if a child is absent and a parent has failed to let us know. We expect all families to ring before 9:00am. We should not have to ring any families.

As part of our School Improvement Plan we will be looking at improving attendance and punctuality. As our pupils are ‘Non-Statutory’ (they are not of compulsory school school age) it is not our duty to report attendance figures to the Department for Education in the same way as Primary and Secondary Schools are obliged to do. We are, however, obliged to encourage all families to be punctual and have good attendance. It is our role to encourage this in readiness for attending School.

In September we will be re-introducing our ‘Late Book’. Families who arrive late will be asked to fill in the ‘Late Book’ and record why they are late. The Senior Leaders will monitor the ‘Late Book’.  We will offer advice and support to families, who need it, to enable them to get to school on time.

We will be looking to educate families about the importance of education. We are not here to ‘tell parents off’, we are here to encourage everyone to give their children the very best start. Children cannot learn what we would like them to if they are not here!

So remember, at Willow, we expect families to work with us to provide a good education for all our pupils.

 

C. Admissions -Adding children’s names to our contact list

The new free funding for working two year olds is having an impact on our admissions procedures. We need to ensure we are able to offer some spaces to pupils the term they turn 2 years old. Then we have to ensure we have enough space, and staff for those children to continue with us until they leave to join the 4+ in the Primary School of their choice.

This is a bit of a puzzle which we have been planning for a while now.

We will continue to take children’s names onto our contact list from birth. We will use this contact list to offer spaces to children the term after they turn 2, or the term after they turn 3, subject to availability. I predict the school will fill at age 2, with only a few spaces available at age 3, if any.

We will no longer be able to offer siblings priority to spaces in our setting. Our admissions policy will be based purely on length of time on our contact list. Those who have their name down first on our contact list will be contacted first to be offered a space at age 2. (Only one category of children will jump to the top of the list for enrolment, and that will be children who are in Care, ie Foster Care.)

Make sure you have your younger children on our contact list. Put the word out to friends and family that they should put their child’s name on Willow’s contact list sooner rather than later should they want their child to attend here.

 

D. Arrangements for September 2024.

We have finalised our plans for the beginning of term in September 2024. So this information is for all the families staying with us in September.

We are aware that a number of our parents are working parents, and look for the school to be operating for all children as soon as possible. We have made our plans trying to strike a balance for everyone’s needs.

Let us start with Little Nursery…..

Little Nursery will reopen on Thursday 5th September.

Little Nursery hours remain 8:45am – 11:45am for a morning session, 11:45am-2:45pm for an afternoon session or 8:45am to 2:45pm for a full day session.

Children’s attendance patterns remain the same, unless you have spoken to me, Mrs Davies, about additional hours for your child.

New starters in Little Nursery will receive paperwork advising parents what their child’s first day will be. New Catkins Class children have start dates somewhere between the 9th September 2024 and 13th September 2024

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Big Nursery:

Wednesday 4th September 2024 has been scheduled as a visit day. All children who are transitioning from Little Nursery to Big Nursery in September 2024 are invited to attend a Stay and Play session lasting for 90 mins, with a parent. The purpose of this visit is to give you and your child the opportunity to meet the Big Nursery staff, explore the Big Nursery classrooms together and say ‘Hello’ to your child’s Keyworker. Little Nursery Keyworkers will distribute paper invitations to Little Nursery parents at this week’s Parent Consultations, for you to keep as a reminder for September. There will be three sessions:

9:00am to 10:30am For Green and Red group children.

11:00am to 12:30pm For Yellow group children already attending Willow

1:00pm to 2:30pm For new Yellow group children, joining us from September.

These stay and play visits are optional. You do not have to attend, but it will be a way to see Big Nursery with your child. We cannot offer these visits at alternative times or dates as we are looking to get the school up and running as quickly as possible for those parents who are working.

Parents must stay with their children at this event.

Thursday 5th September  – Big Nursery Re-opens for regular Nursery sessions.

Green Group, Red Group and Yellow Group (who have attended in Little Nursery) return to join Big Nursery, attending for their agreed attendance pattern.

Children attending for 30 hours will begin on Thursday 5th September.

Children attending for two and a half days at the end of the week will begin on Thursday 5th at 8:50am.

Children attending for two and a half days at the beginning of the week will begin on Monday 9th September.

Big Nursery hours are:

Morning session: 8:50am to 11:50am

Wednesday afternoon session: 11:50am to 2:50pm.

Full day session: 8:50am to 2:50pm

 

E. Reminder: parent consultations this week.

This week we will be having face to face parent consultations for all the children across the week on 1st, 2nd and 4th July 2024.  Please bear in mind that all consultations will be 5 minutes long.

Little Nursery:

Monday 1st July–

Miss Cashmore, Catkins Yellow Group Children-between 3:15pm and 4:05pm

Mrs McGrath, Catkins Yellow Group Children-between 3:00pm and 3:35pm

Miss Gaffney’s Green Group Children- between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

Mrs Brinkley’s Red Group Children- between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Tuesday 2nd July

Miss Tyler’s Catkins Orange group children– between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Thursday 4th July–

Mrs Watson’s Blue Group Children- between 3:00pm and 3:55pm

Big Nursery:

Monday 1st July-  No appointments scheduled.

Tuesday 2nd July

Miss Skai’s Orange Group Children- between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Children – between 3:15pm and 4:10pm

Thursday 4th July–

Mrs Patterson’s Green Group Children -between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

Miss Cashmore’s Yellow Group Children -between 3:15pm and 4:00pm

 

F. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme throughout nursery is the story ‘Peace at Last’.

In Catkins, the children will have a picnic area set up and lots of teddy bears. They will combine the two, to have a teddy bear’s picnic. Staff will sit with the children and pretend their teddies are eating and drinking the food. They will model lots of play and language to support the children with their small world role play. Adults will also encourage the children to use their listening ears as they play different sounds from the book. The children will be asked to name as many sounds as they can.

In the Catkins garden, the children will focus on improving their ball skills. Everyone will focus on different skills each day. These skills will include; kicking, throwing, catching and playing lots of different ball games. Staff will promote turn taking and offer lots of words of encouragement to the children.

In the Link, the children will recreate characters from the story using playdough. This activity is great for building fine motor skills and strengthening the muscles in young people’ s hands. As the children play, adults will use language from the story to encourage children to retell the tale. They will use lots of descriptive language to explain how they are playing with the playdough, ie squeeze, roll, flatten etc.

In Room 3, the children will be able to play in a house similar to the house of Mr Bear in the book. They will have lots of props to be able to recreate the story and act it out as all three characters. Staff will also set up an area for the children to retell the story on a smaller scale. There will be figures and a dolls house for the children to play with.

In Room 2, the children will explore the literacy side of the book. There will be opportunities for children to make familiar words from the story. They will use paint, stampers and their phonics knowledge to create words that have appeared in the story ‘Peace at Last’.

In Room 1, the children will play Bingo Bears, which is a colour matching game. The game prompts children to look at the colours that they need to name and match to complete the game. Staff will encourage children to be as independent as possible when naming colours but will offer support when needed.

Outside, the children will investigate water and its properties as the water tray is set up outside. Children will be asked to wear aprons each time they are at the tray, and replace them after they have finished. There will be also be an easel set up so that the children can enjoy the weather outside and explore painting in the garden.

 

 

Nursery News 24th June 2024

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

NURSERY NEWS

Monday 24th June 2024 – Edition 339

Find out About:

A. Review of the Year

B. Ice Pops, Please, not Lollies.

C. Availability in September 2024 of additional sessions for children already attending Little Nursery.

D. Willow Nursery School’s Ofsted Report

E .What are the children learning about this week?

 

A. Review of the year

At this time of year, we carry out a big review of our school. In the last few days Miss Howe, Mrs Cashmore and Miss Allen have been talking to the Big Nursery children individually, to gain their views about their school, with regard to what they like, what they think they have learned and what they would like to see change. All school staff and Governors are busy filling in questionnaires too.

This information helps us to plan our areas for development next year.

I always ask parents for their views too at this time of year.

 

We usually ask just two questions:

  1. Please comment about what we do well at Willow.
  2. Please tell us one thing you would like to see at Willow that you would consider to be an improvement and/or development.

Please write a short email and send to office@willownursery.co.uk

 

If you wish your comments to inform my review, please send your email by the end of this week, Friday 28th June. I will then compile all the comments and respond to them in a future newsletter, on Tuesday 9th July.

 

B. Ice Pops Please, not Lollies.

Thank you to all the parents who have donated some ice pops. We will definitely be having them every day this week as the weather has been forecast to be very hot.

Parents have been very generous. Some parents have sent in ice lollies. Again very generous, but some brands are not suitable for children with allergies. On Thursday I went to get ice pops from the school freezer and found some ‘Rowntrees Watermelon’ Lollies. They had an allergy warning on them:

 

May contain: peanuts, nuts and egg. Not suitable for consumers with a milk allergy.

 

So, I would ask parents to just provide Ice Pops as I have never found ice pops to be unsuitable for those with allergies. We do currently have two children at Willow who have severe allergies to some of the foods advised in the allergy warning so please help us to keep all our pupils safe.

 

C. Availability in September 2024 of additional sessions for children already attending Little Nursery.

Back in May, I wrote a short piece about our enrolment processes during the summer term, so here is an excerpt from Nursery News 333 and some updates….

Our next task is to enrol children from our waitlist aged 3+ who are due to start with us in Big Nursery in September 2024. This may take a few weeks. We completed this task last week. Big Nursery is now full for September 2024. We are no longer adding names to our contact list for a space in Big Nursery 2024-25

Then we will be looking to enrol children eligible to start in our 2+ Little Nursery in September 2024. We are just awaiting the return of paperwork from these families. We consider our 2 year old places to be full now for the Autumn term.

As this work is now almost complete, we can turn our attention to the children who are already attending Willow.

We have two groups of children currently in Little Nursery who will remain in Little Nursery in September 2024. Some time ago, in March 2024, we asked Little Nursery Blue Group (Children date of birth 1.9.21 to 31.12.21) parents to select which attendance pattern they would like for their child when they will become 3+age, in January 2025.

Last week I asked Little Nursery Orange Group  ( Children date of birth 1.1.22 to 31.3.22) parents to select which attendance pattern they would like for their child when they become 3+age range in April 2025. These parents will return their paperwork by Wednesday this week.

We now need to go to these parents in Little Nursery Blue and Orange Groups to see if any parent would like additional spaces for their child from September 2024 until they become 3+age.

AS PART OF THE PARENT CONSULTATIONS NEXT WEEK, I WILL BE JOINING MISS TYLER ON TUESDAY EVENING, AND MRS WATSON ON THURSDAY EVENING.  We can talk about additional sessions for your child, should you require some, at that appointment.

The final part of Summer Term arrangements is to provide transition information to families of children in Little Nursery Yellow group (Date of birth 1.4.21 to 31.8.21). We aim to have this paperwork ready to hand to you at next weeks’ parent consultations..

Thank you for being so patient. We have 8 termly cohorts of children here in the Nursery during the Summer Term, so it takes some time to meet the needs of each group.

Sometimes things happen, beyond our control, that slows down our processes. Which seems to bring me along quite nicely to:

 

D. Willow Nursery School’s Ofsted Report

I hope you all received an email on Thursday 20th June regarding our recent Ofsted inspection. We are very proud of our result being judged Good overall with recognition that our ‘Behaviour and Attitudes’ judgement was deemed to be Outstanding.

Approximately once every four years Ofsted re-write their standards for Ofsted inspections. Ofsted and the government are always looking to drive an improvement in educational standards in schools. Ofsted then set out to assess all schools within a four-year cycle.

 

We have been told that the ‘bar has been raised’ and the standards Ofsted currently are looking for are higher than ever.

We, as a Maintained Nursery School receive a full School’s Ofsted Inspection. The standards that Willow is measured against are the same standards used to inspect all Primary and Secondary schools.

So I have added some information from the Ofsted School Inspection Handbook, so, if you are interested you can see for yourselves how rigorous these Inspections are. All writing below in purple is from the Ofsted handbook.

 

For example, these are the grade descriptors for a ‘Good’ outcome under the heading ‘Quality of Education’:

 

Good (2)

The curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils.

  • Leaders adopt or construct a curriculum that is ambitious and designed to give all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils (including pupils with SEND), the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. This is either the national curriculum or a curriculum of comparable breadth and ambition.
  • Pupils study the full curriculum; it is not narrowed:
    • in primary schools, a broad range of subjects (exemplified by the national curriculum) is taught in key stage 2 throughout Years 3 to 6
    • in secondary schools, the school teaches a broad range of subjects (exemplified by the national curriculum) throughout Years 7 to 9. The school’s aim is to have the EBacc at the heart of its curriculum, in line with the DfE’s ambition where this applies, and good progress has been made towards this ambition.
  • The curriculum may undergo necessary changes (for example, following a review by leaders or to take account of COVID-19) and certain aspects may be more developed than others. Where this is the case, these changes do not prevent all pupils having access to an appropriately broad and ambitious curriculum. Where adaptations to curriculum breadth are made for particular pupils, there is a clear rationale for why this is in those pupils’ interests, and, where appropriate, there is a clear plan for returning all pupils to studying the full curriculum.
  • Reading is prioritised to allow pupils to access the full curriculum offer.
  • A rigorous and sequential approach to the reading curriculum develops pupils’ fluency, confidence and enjoyment in reading. At all stages, reading attainment is assessed and gaps are addressed quickly and effectively for all pupils. Reading books connect closely to the phonics knowledge that pupils are taught when they are learning to read.
  • The sharp focus on ensuring that younger children and those at the early stages of reading gain the phonics knowledge and language comprehension necessary to read, and the skills to communicate, gives them the foundations for future learning

The planning and implementation of the curriculum supports a strong impact on pupils’ learning.

  • The school’s curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.
  • The curriculum is successfully adapted, designed or developed to be ambitious and meet the needs of pupils with SEND, developing their knowledge, skills and abilities to apply what they know and can do with increasing fluency and independence.
  • Teachers have good knowledge of the subject(s) and courses they teach. Leaders provide effective support, including for those teaching outside their main areas of expertise.
  • Teachers present subject matter clearly, promoting appropriate discussion about the subject matter being taught. They check pupils’ understanding systematically, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback. In so doing, they respond and adapt their teaching as necessary without unnecessarily elaborate or individualised approaches.
  • Teachers ensure that their own speaking, listening, writing and reading of English support pupils in developing their language and vocabulary well.
  • Teachers create an environment that focuses on pupils. The textbooks and other teaching materials that teachers select – in a way that does not create unnecessary workload for staff – reflect the school’s ambitious intentions for the course of study. These materials clearly support the intent of a coherently planned curriculum, sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.
  • The work given enables pupils to achieve the aims and ambition of the curriculum, which is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge.
  • Over the course of study, teaching is designed to help pupils to remember long term the content they have been taught and to integrate new knowledge into larger ideas.
  • Teachers and leaders use assessment well. For example, they use it to help pupils embed and use knowledge fluently, or to check understanding and inform teaching, or to understand different starting points and gaps as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders understand the limitations of assessment and do not use it in a way that creates unnecessary burdens on staff or pupils.
  • Any remote education is well integrated within course(s) of study, and is well designed to support the wider implementation of the school’s curriculum.

The impact of the education which pupils receive is strong, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.

  • Pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum and, as a result, achieve well. This is reflected in the work that pupils produce.
  • Pupils read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension appropriate to their age. They are able to apply mathematical knowledge, concepts and procedures appropriately for their age.
  • Where available, impact is reflected in results from national tests and examinations that meet government expectations, or in the qualifications obtained. Teacher assessed grades from 2020 and 2021 will not be used to assess impact.
  • Pupils are ready for the next stage of education, employment or training. They have the knowledge and skills they need and, where relevant, they gain qualifications that allow them to go on to destinations that meet their interests and aspirations and the intention of their course of study. Pupils with SEND achieve the best possible outcomes.

 

In order for the Behaviour and Attitudes judgement to be outstanding, the school must meet all of the good criteria securely and consistently and it must also meet the additional outstanding criteria.

Outstanding (1)

  • The school meets all the criteria for good in behaviour and attitudes securely and consistently.
  • Behaviour and attitudes are exceptional.

In addition, the following apply:

  • Pupils behave with consistently high levels of respect for others. They play a highly positive role in creating a school environment in which commonalities are identified and celebrated, difference is valued and nurtured, and bullying, harassment and violence are never tolerated.
  • Pupils consistently have highly positive attitudes and commitment to their education. They are highly motivated and persistent in the face of difficulties. Pupils make a highly positive, tangible contribution to the life of the school and/or the wider community. Pupils actively support the well-being of other pupils.
  • Pupils behave consistently well, demonstrating high levels of self-control and consistently positive attitudes to their education. If pupils struggle with this, the school takes intelligent, fair and highly effective action to support them to succeed in their education.

 

Good (2)

  • The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct. These expectations are commonly understood and applied consistently and fairly. This is reflected in pupils’ positive behaviour and conduct. Low-level disruption is not tolerated and pupils’ behaviour does not disrupt lessons or the day-to-day life of the school. Leaders support all staff well in managing pupils’ behaviour. Staff make sure that pupils follow appropriate routines.
  • Leaders, staff and pupils create a positive environment in which bullying is not tolerated. If bullying, aggression, discrimination and derogatory language occur, they are dealt with quickly and effectively and are not allowed to spread.
  • There is demonstrable improvement in the behaviour and attendance of pupils who have particular needs.
  • Pupils’ attitudes to their education are positive. They are committed to their learning, know how to study effectively and do so, are resilient to setbacks and take pride in their achievements.
  • Pupils have high attendance. They come to school on time and are punctual to lessons. When this is not the case, the school takes appropriate, swift and effective action.
  • Suspensions are used appropriately. The school reintegrates suspended pupils on their return and manages their behaviour effectively. Permanent exclusions are used appropriately as a last resort (see statutory guidance on school exclusion).
  • Relationships among pupils and staff reflect a positive and respectful culture; pupils are safe and they feel safe.

 

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is air and sea transport

In Catkins, the children will learn about flying through space in rockets. Staff will show the children images of rockets and model to the children, how to create their own rockets out of recycled materials. They will use tubes, paper and pens to decorate their rockets and will be encouraged to fly them outside.

In Catkins garden, the children will be investigating water. They will explore transporting water using pipes, jugs, buckets and other containers. Although the children will have access to aprons, they will likely get quite wet. Please provide spare clothes, including shoes and socks for the days your child attends.

In the Link, the children will build on their fine motor skills as they fold paper aeroplanes. They will be shown how to fold paper along specific lines to create a plane that they can take into the garden and fly. As they work, staff will talk to children about travelling on planes and encourage them to recall their own experiences such as holidays or times when they have seen planes in the sky.

In Room 4, the staff will work with the children to create box models of planes and boats. They will talk to the children about air and sea travel and share personal experiences to encourage conversations. Children will be shown how to attach materials together using glue and tape. The children will have the opportunity to paint pictures of the many types of sea and air transport that they have learnt about during the week.

In Room 2, the children will use magnets and tweezers to create words linked with travel and transport. The children will be encouraged to use tweezers to pick up and arrange letters to create new words. There will be word templates to support the children with their spelling and they will have the chance to spell any other words that they link with transport.

In Room 1, the children will focus on improving their fine motor skills by cutting and sticking pictures to create a suitcase that is suitable for them to go on holiday. The children will discuss with staff about locations that they would like to visit and they will cut out images that are suitable for the place that they have chosen. Staff will encourage the children to be as independent with their work as possible but will support where necessary.

Outside, the children will have a lot of fun with water play. They will have access to the water tray, boats and other water toys. Children will be encouraged to wear aprons, but may get wet. They will learn about staying safe in the sun and the importance of wearing a hat and sun cream. Staff will reinforce the importance of staying hydrated to the children and they will be reminded to cool down in the shade/ inside school and drink lots of water.

 

Nursery News 17th June 2024

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

NURSERY NEWS

17th June 2024 – Edition 338

Find out About:

A. Reminder: An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

B. Phone issues continue.

C. What are the children learning about this week?

 

A. Reminder: An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

Miss Howe’s Yellow group parents have been invited in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Wednesday 19th June.

Mrs Cashmore’s Big Nursery Yellow group parents have been invited in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Thursday 20th June.

The children’s skills are really coming along as we head towards the end of the year. We hope you will enjoy the opportunity to see your child working within a more structured, adult led session.

 

B.Phone issues continue.

Despite a lot of time in discussion with BT and our ICT support technical service, we are no further on.

We can receive calls, but we cannot make calls.

Callers can leave answerphone messages, but we cannot pick them up.

We are largely relying on emails to pass messages on to parents.

I will keep you updated through these newsletters, if we make progress.

 

C. What are the children learning about this week?

Our Half Termly Topic is ‘On the Move’.

The theme in nursery this week is ‘Transport On Land’.

In Catkins, the children will be learning about transport through play. They will have access to cars and garages and staff will model language as the children play. Adults will provide boxes for the children to sit in and pretend that they are in vehicles. They will use props such as steering wheels to boost their imagination.

In the garden, the children will practice riding bikes and moving around the garden in cars. They will consider different ways to move their vehicles, including, pushing

them along as they walk behind and scooting along using their feet. Staff will create a track for the children to move around safely and will encourage turn taking.

In the Link, the staff will talk to the children about moving from place to place on foot. They will talk about how healthy it is to walk to work and school. The staff will support children in taking off their shoes and socks so that they can create their own foot painting pictures. They will encourage the children to talk about the way the paint and paintbrush feels on their feet and about the school rule of using their ‘walking feet’.

 

 

In Room 3, the children will have access to a range of media where they can create their own box models. Staff will support children in creating cars, lorries, vans etc. to represent land transport models. They will be encouraged to be as independent as possible when using the glue and sellotape dispenser to attach different materials together.

In Room 2, the children will be looking at the different marks that can be made by painting using toy cars. They will be shown how to push cars through paint and then look at the marks made by different wheels. Children will also learn about the importance of traffic lights and the three colours that are used. They will choose appropriate colours to create their own traffic light pictures.

In Room 1, the staff will set up a bus role play area. The children will get to sit on the bus while a driver takes them to their destination. The driver will ask the passengers for tickets and destination information, this will promote communication and language skills for all of the children. They will be encouraged to take turns being the driver and passengers to ensure everyone gets a turn.

Outside, the children will have ramps and cars set up in an area where they can explore speed and movement as they roll cars down different inclines. There will be bikes, scooters and road signs provided for the children to practice moving safely around the playground. They will be encouraged to stop at the stop signs and pay attention to the colours on the traffic lights.

Nursery News 10th June 2024

Monday, June 10, 2024

NURSERY NEWS

10th June 2024 – Edition 337

Find out About:

A. Can you Help? We are in need of some tissues…

B. An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

C. Parent Consultations July 2024

D. End of term arrangements July 2024

E. What are the children learning about this week?

 

A. Can you Help? We are in need of some tissues…

We are almost completely out of tissues. We would be very grateful if Parents would consider donating a box of tissues.

 

B. An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

Miss Howe teaches some Big Nursery Yellow Group children ‘Basic Skills’ on a Wednesday morning. Mrs Cashmore teaches Some Big Nursery Yellow Group children ‘Basic Skills’ on a Thursday morning.

The children move to a quiet space in Room 5 where they work in small groups (approx. 8 children) to learn reading, writing, mathematical skills and problem solving.

We would like to invite Miss Howe’s Yellow group parents in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Wednesday 19th June.

We would like to invite Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow group parents in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Thursday 20th June.

A further invitation letter will follow to Yellow Group parents so that we can match up time slots, so parents can join their child’s small group. Blue Group had their Basic Skills groups in the Autumn Term 2023 and Orange Group had their Basic skills group in the Spring Term 2024.

 

C. Parent Consultations July 2024.

We plan to have face to face parent consultations for all the children on 1st, 2nd  and 4th July 2024.  All consultations will be 5 minutes long. Staff will be in touch with you to arrange an appointment time.

Some staff work part time. Individual staff members will each have a designated block of time slots to meet with parents.

So for Little Nursery:

Please note, we have had to make some transitional arrangements due to the roll out of the 15 hours funding for 2 year olds. Little Nursery Yellow Group are now based in Room 3 for the Summer Term 2024. Mrs Cashmore and Mrs McGrath work closely with them and know them best. Little Nursery Blue Group are based in the Catkins Room. Mrs Watson works closely with them and knows them best. So for these consultations, Little Yellow Group and Little Blue Group Parents will meet with the adults that are currently most knowledgeable about their child, which, at this time may not be their Keyworker.

Monday 1st July–

Mrs Cashmore, Catkins Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 3:45pm

Mrs McGrath, Catkins Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:00pm and 3:35pm

Miss Gaffney’s Green Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:00pm

Mrs Brinkley’s Red Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:00pm

Tuesday 2nd July

Miss Tyler’s Catkins Orange group children Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Thursday 4th July–

Mrs Watson’s Blue Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

So for Big Nursery:

Monday 1st July-  No appointments scheduled.

Tuesday 2nd July

Miss Skai’s Orange Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Thursday 4th July–

Mrs Patterson’s Green Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

 

D. End of Term arrangements July 2024

The last day of term in July 2024 for all children will be Thursday 18th July.

On Friday 19th July school will open only for the Big Nursery children that are leaving us. The session will be from 8:50 am to 11:50 am. All Big Nursery leavers are invited to attend this session, regardless of your child’s normal attendance days. As children are attending for the morning only, no child will require a packed lunch. Children will require their water bottles. We are going to consult the children about what activities they would like to plan for their last day, and try to enable their ideas. There will be no charge for this session.

 

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’

All of the children throughout the school will be learning the story ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’.

In Catkins, the children will have access to lots of different clothes as they role play with a clothes shop. They will have the choice to dress up to look just as smart as the Giant in the story. There will be lots of clothes for the children to wear, including some oversized clothes that might be big enough to fit a giant.

In Catkins garden, the children will continue with the theme of exploring clothes. They will have a rotary washing line and pegs set up, along with a washing up bowl filled with water. They will use these resources to support them with their play. Hanging up clothes using pegs is very good for building fine motor skills and staff will ensure there is a constant flow of washing that needs to be dried.

In the Link, the children will focus on number. They will use stamps and paint to create pictures. Children will be prompted to say the names of each number they use for their work. Staff will support children with counting 1-3 and 1-5 and further if they are able. Children will be offered the opportunity to make a Father’s Day card, this is an optional activity and will only be completed if the children wish to.

In Room 3, the children will look at this theme from a mathematical viewpoint. They will be encouraged to measure their own feet and some giant feet, using multi-link blocks. Children will be shown how to attach the multi-link blocks together to create different measurements. They will be supported with counting the blocks as they work. Staff will discuss similarities and differences between the sizes of the feet that have been measured.

In Room 2, the children will explore the characters from the story. They will look at what the characters wear, and use the book for guidelines on any images they would like to create. These recreations of characters can be done in a range of ways, using different media and materials. The children will choose how they want to present their work. The children in Big Nursery will have the opportunity to make a Father’s Day card, there will be some ideas and resources available but it will be the children’s decision to make one.

In Room 1, staff will be focusing on maths skills. This will include number and counting games, as well as discussing the importance of taking turns. The children will be invited to play a matching socks game, where they will look at the patterns of different socks and try to pair them up. Children will then be encouraged to look for numbers and patterns in the environment.

Outside, the children will be investigating the way a giant might walk. They will have giant feet that they will stand on and use to make their way around the playground. These giants feet will promote balance and coordination for the children, they are so big that the children need to hold on to ropes to lift the feet. The water tray will be available outside for the children to look after and wash their babies in. Staff will talk to the children about the difference in size between a baby and a giant, modelling language such as big, small, short and tall etc.

 

 

 

Nursery News 3rd June 2024

Monday, June 3, 2024

NURSERY NEWS

Monday 3rd June 2024 – Edition 336.

Find out About

A. Summer Heat and Nursery.

B.Is your child ready to learn.

C. What are the children are learning about this week?

 

A. Summer Heat and Nursery.

We now find ourselves in the last seven weeks of the Summer Term. Higher temperatures will  now be arriving. Staff are bracing ourselves, as the Summer extreme hot weather brings its own problems.

Across the school, children respond differently to the heat. Some children can take the heat in their stride, and are happy and content. Some children really struggle with the heat, they get too hot, become flushed and sweaty. The intense heat can sap children’s energy. Some children can become extremely grumpy and tired in the hottest part of the day. Staff spend most of their time worrying about keeping everyone safe.

So to help:

  • Please keep the donations of fruit and vegetables coming in for snack time. These help to keep the children hydrated, and snack time inside is a restful pause away from the heat.
  • Donate some Ice Pops, again these can create a reason to pause and sit quietly. The ice also helps the children to cool down.
  • Ensure children have their water bottles with them every day.
  • Provide a hat for your child, please put their name on it somewhere.

 

B. Is your child ready to learn?

Parents always look eagerly towards finding out which Primary school their child will be attending. Parents of children leaving us in July 2024 have found out which school their child is going to. We work very hard in school to prepare children for the next stage in their learning at their new school. There are some preparations that parents should be aware of, and can work on with your child in order to make your child ‘School Ready’.  So together, as teachers and carers, we need to make sure all our children receive the very best possible start.

Central Bedfordshire Council has put together a leaflet which describes some essential skills that your child should be working towards in order to get the best out of school. This leaflet is known as the ‘sixteen ticks’ as it has sixteen things to work towards. These ticks are relevant to all our pupils, even the youngest, because they are all eventually going to go on to Primary School.

I have attached a poster along with this newsletter which details the sixteen ticks and suggests some points for you to consider.

There is an additional link sent with this newsletter. This is the 16 ticks poster.

Please have a look at it, to see the variety of skills children need to have in place in order to have a successful start in their primary school.

 

C. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme across the school is London and the Royal Family.

As part of our teaching about ‘British Values’, we spend some time looking at the British Royal Family. We introduce children to pictures of the royal family and pictures of artefacts that are a part of Royalty and Ceremony.

We also take this opportunity to talk about how the King sometimes lives in London, and again look at photographs of Royal Palaces and other London landmarks.

 

We introduce children to the Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack), particularly looking at the colours of red white and blue.

 

We will offer a range of age appropriate activities, to enhance individual children’s knowledge and interest.

There will be a lot of crown making……